“WHY”-The most important question of all

More than 2 weeks since my last post. We are off to a great start! 🙂

I believe that before we begin any new project, having a clear sense of WHY is crucial. Knowing WHY you initiated a project will make your objectives clear and will motivate you to finish what you started.

Redesign of a brand is one such project that must begin with a clear WHY-Why does your brand require a redesign? The answer to this question is the only way you can measure success.

A few weeks back, “Bahrain TV” which is the state-channel unveiled their new logo. It immediately caught the attention of the design community in Bahrain and the reactions were not all positive.

When the previous logo was introduced, Bahrain TV, Bahrain News Agency and the Information Affairs Authority all had the same logo. I would say they were actually in a good position. (Even though there was scope for improvement.)

For those of you who are not familiar with Bahrain, the shape was derived from the national emblem, which is a part of all the ministry logos in Bahrain. The dispersing dots in the old logo, was a simple visualisation of “transmission”. Also the logo identified itself with all the other government ventures and was thus relevant.

The new logo is barely a “logo”. In a world where modern calligraphy and hand-lettering is trending, this script is out-dated. The width to height proportion of the logo makes it look odd on a TV screen. It cannot be condensed into any symbol or icon. It doesn’t work vertically. Its just not right.

Supporting the unveiling of the new logo, there were promotional outdoor ads which very designed quite well using double exposure photographs. These artworks gave a sense of freshness and modernity which is completely contradicted by the new identity.

BahrainTV has rebranded itself quite a few times in the recent past.

This clearly shows they are trying to change something about themselves. And its not working. But what if a new logo is not the solution? What if its just an improvement in the quality of content that they provide? What if its just a change is the tone of voice they are using?